Your kitchen is typically the room in your home that gets the most use, so it’s also probably the dirtiest. Spot cleaning every day in conjunction with a cleaning routine performed on a regular basis (ideally once a week) is the best method of keeping a kitchen clean.
Daily Upkeep
Daily upkeep doesn’t take much time. Keep a dish cloth or microfiber cloth on standby along with a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol and tap water mixed in a 50/50 combination. Or use all-purpose spray if you prefer. Use this to clean up spills, splatters, and crumbs after food prep and meals.
Wash dishes or rinse and put in the dishwasher after each meal so you never end up with a mountain of dirty dishes in the sink. Quickly sweep or vacuum the floor every day or two.
Weekly Upkeep
Your weekly routine won’t take long if you’ve kept up with daily maintenance.
First, quickly remove dust and cobwebs from ceilings, ceiling fans, tops of cupboard, the top of the refrigerator, and anything else up high. Dust wall hangings, window treatments, chair rails, baseboard, baseboard heaters.
Dust furniture, if applicable. If you have a table and chairs or stools in the kitchen, wipe clean any spilled food or sticky areas on chair backs, spindles, the back edges of seats, and chair rungs.
Clean appliance fronts using an appropriate cleaner, for example glass cleaner or stainless-steel cleaner. Look out for fingerprints and sticky areas on keypads, knobs and handles.
If you have an inset water or ice dispenser in your refrigerator door, don’t forget to clean this area, paying particular attention to the tray at the bottom. Moisture tends to get trapped under the tray, causing bacteria and mold to grow.
Clean inside the microwave, if necessary. If there’s any kind of cooked-on mess, place a glass bowl or cup of water inside and run the microwave long enough for the water to create steam, then turn off the microwave and allow the water to steam in the microwave for a few minutes until the mess gets soft enough to wipe away.
Clean cook top. Remove drip pans or burner grates and wash in the sink with dish detergent and water or all-purpose cleaner. Clean glass cook tops using specialty cleaner or baking soda and water. Also, clean top of range hood if you have one.
Wipe off the countertops and backsplashes and wash the outsides of appliances and other objects on the counters. Shift things from side to side so you can clean the counter underneath.
De-crumb the toaster or toaster oven. Most toasters and toaster ovens have a door or tray on the bottom that collects crumbs. Open or remove this tray to de-crumb the toaster. If your toaster doesn’t have a crumb release door or tray, hold it upside-down over the trash and gently shake the crumbs out.
Spot clean cupboard doors and drawer fronts. Also, clean drawer pulls and handles.
Optionally, clean your garbage container outside and/or inside.
Clean the sink using baking soda, all-purpose cleaner or scrub, disinfectant, or specialty cleaner if applicable.
Sweep/vacuum/mop the floor. The kitchen floor is usually one of the dirtiest in the house and therefore most in need of mopping.
This routine shouldn’t take more than a half hour to forty-five minutes if your kitchen is already in good shape.
Upkeep
Keeping a clean kitchen is all about upkeep. Regular maintenance means you’ll never waste hours on a frenzied cleaning session in readiness for your sister’s baby shower.
Once you work out a system and get into the habit, cleaning will become automatic. Your life will be less stressful, and your kitchen will always be clean.
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